A man who lost his eye and suffered permanent brain damage during a 2020 shooting in Seattle’s protest zone is suing the city, claiming officials abandoned normal emergency services and left him to die after armed vigilantes opened fire.
Robert West was 14 years old when gunfire erupted inside the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest area shortly before 3 a.m. on June 29, 2020. West and his friend Antonio Mays Jr., 16, were riding in a vehicle when members of self-appointed security forces shot at them. Both teenagers sustained critical injuries. Mays died from his wounds. West survived but lost his right eye, suffered traumatic brain damage, and bears permanent disfigurement.
West, now 20, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in King County Superior Court. His complaint argues that Seattle created a dangerous situation by ceding control of the area to protesters after abandoning the East Precinct, then failed to maintain basic public safety infrastructure. Bystanders rushed West to Harborview Medical Center because no city ambulance arrived to transport him, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims Seattle suspended standard police and emergency medical protocols inside the protest zone, mishandled 911 calls, and ignored multiple requests for help. West’s attorneys argue the city recognized violence was intensifying but publicly minimized the threat and never warned people to stay away. The complaint also alleges that police never conducted a meaningful investigation and have never interviewed West in the more than five years since the shooting.
The legal action follows a separate jury verdict that found Seattle liable for Mays’ death and awarded his family $30 million. That jury concluded the city created a special duty to protect people inside the protest zone by establishing emergency response procedures but then failing to execute them. West’s lawsuit advances similar arguments, seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.
The mounting litigation highlights questions about Seattle’s decision-making during the summer 2020 protests. The city allowed protesters to occupy several blocks around the East Precinct for weeks after police withdrew from the building. Multiple shootings occurred during that period before the city eventually cleared the area and resumed normal operations.
